Sasuke: Advancement

Sasuke was slightly at a loss as what to do with himself as the post-invasion cleanup drew to a close. He was fairly certain both of his team-mates would be promoted based on their performance in the finals, but wasn't sure his demonstrated ease in both kenjutsu and elemental manipulation were enough to convince the judges that he was chunnin material. The Oto invasion really had come at a very inconvenient moment for him.

The Uchiha hadn't mentioned his suspicions to his team: Kakashi was out on a mission somewhere, Sakura was elbow-deep in patients at the hospital and Naruto had been dragged off to do some specialised fuuinjutsu work by a couple of Hyuuga wearing Kekkai-Han uniforms. Lacking the kind of specialised skills that were in demand in situations other than battle, Sasuke had divided his time between helping the other surviving genin clear rubble and dig up bodies and getting to know hid long-lost younger cousins. It came as a tremendous relief to know the weight of reviving the Uchiha clan did not fall solely on his own shoulders. Having an actual family again was similarly good, if rather more trying on a personal level since at least half his cousins insisted on adopting Naruto as their big brother and role model. It could have been worse; they could have picked Kiba or, horror of horrors, Ino.

He had completed his mission for the day and was walking towards the Hatake compound for dinner –Amemai kept an open house and there was always enough food, even if Chouji showed up– when Naruto's raised voice caught his attention. His team-mate had stopped being loud on leaving the Academy and still wasn't being particularly noisy, but his voice had acquired a distinct edge that suggested there would be embarrassment and humiliation in your future if you didn't leave him alone.

"… stand by my earlier statement, Jiraya-san; I cannot in good conscience accept your generous offer when my current sensei are more than capable of ensuring I reach my full potential."

Sasuke turned down the right fork of the crossroads and saw Naruto standing stiffly outside the ramen stand with his fists clenched, facing a very large, white-haired ninja wearing a very eccentric and theatrical outfit in green and red.

"Look here gaki," the older man started, looking vaguely frustrated, but was interrupted by Naruto before he could go further:

"My humble gratitude for your thoughtfulness and the honour you do me, Jiraya-sama," the blond said coolly with a polite and utterly final bow, "but my responsibilities prevent me from accepting your offer." That said, the Uzumaki turned and swiftly walked away, leaving the large, middle-aged man standing forlornly in the middle of the street. Sasuke wondered what the strange individual had wanted from Naruto and why his team-mate had declined. The blond was fanatical about learning and would not normally turn down any teacher, no matter who they were. He even paid attention to the farmers who hired team seven for D-ranks!

"What do you want?" Sasuke blinked, then realised the odd-looking shinobi had noticed him and was talking to him.

"What did you want with my team-mate?" the Uchiha asked bluntly, his only concession to manners the usage of the more formal variation of the second person singular. He didn't hold many people in high esteem, but Naruto had pointed out that most individuals were more obliging if you didn't let them know that outright. Good manners got results.

"I wanted to take him on as my apprentice," the older man said shortly just as Sasuke realised where he'd seen that face before; the man was Jiraya of the Sannin, former team-mate to Orochimaru and Senju Tsunade.

"Why?" Sasuke asked. The Sannin glanced back at him.

"Think he's not good enough for an apprenticeship, gaki?"

Sasuke snorted. Narruto was a fantastic if unconventional shinobi. "He's good enough. Why him in particular?" Jiraya's infamous previous student had been the Yondaime. Of course, since the Yondaime had also sealed Yoko inside Naruto, the aging shinobi's choice might be related to his status as Konohagakure's jinchuuriki.

"I thought he'd make a good successor based on what Sarutobi-sensei told me about him," the long-haired, solidly built Sannin told him absently, staring thoughtfully at the Uchiha.

"Successor?" Sasuke repeated, despite having a good idea already of what Jiraya meant. Asking stupid questions did not necessarily mean the answers you would get would be useless. It also encouraged people to underestimate you, which was useful.

Jiraya brightened. "I haven't introduced myself, have I?" There was a puff of smoke and the sannin performed what Sasuke recognised as a kabuki pose –Naruto had insisted on dragging the team out to a few performances– on top of an orange toad the size of an ox. "I am Mount Myobokugama's holy master hermit, also known as the Toad Sage, remember it!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the flamboyance that looked very like a more practiced and deliberate version of Naruto's Academy persona. "I know who you are, Densetsu no Sannin no Jiraya," he deadpanned, "I was just wondering what you looked for in an apprentice that made Naruto your principal candidate."

"Why? Interested?" the white-haired nin inquired sharply, fixing the genin with a piercing stare.

Sasuke decided to be completely open and honest, as that was what Naruto would do under these circumstances and Naruto's approach worked more often than seemed strictly logical or reasonable considering he was supposed to be a ninja. "A great many things in my life have changed recently and I am no longer entirely certain what it is I wish to achieve other than fulfilling my potential as a shinobi," he stated bluntly. "So I was curious."

The sannin appeared somewhat mollified. "I was hoping your team-mate would be willing to sign my summoning contract and succeed me as Toad Sage," he elaborated, hopping off the back of the brightly coloured amphibian which promptly dissolved into smoke.

"Oh. Neither of us could do that: we both have contracts already," Sasuke explained. The Uchiha had only known the crows for a short time but he would never, ever abandon them for any other contract. They were his family now, more so even that his baby cousins and his rather estranged big brother. "Never mind," he added politely as he turned to leave. While the man was clearly foolish, superficial and gratingly goofy, he was nonetheless a highly capable shinobi with a great deal of knowledge at his disposal. Had the man been willing to teach him, Sasuke would have put up with the stupid attitude in exchange for the opportunity to learn from the man who had once been Orochimaru's team-mate.

"Wait up there gaki," the green-and-red clad shinobi called after him. Sasuke paused and looked back.

"While I was looking for someone to inherit my summoning contract, I have many other skills at my disposal in addition to it," Jiraya said mildly. "Skills that, thinking about it, I really should pass on to the next generation. Kakashi was my student's student and you are his, so taking you under my wing wouldn't be stepping on anybody's toes. Especially now your sensei had children of his own to raise and teach."

Sasuke had been hailed as a genius from the moment he entered the Academy despite the constant and unfavourable comparisons to Itachi and while he knew he wasn't a prodigy like his elder sibling, he recognised that he picked most things up much faster that all of his peers and most adults. His progress in kenjutsu was a testimony to this and could only partly be attributed to his recent use of sharingan: he'd been learning for a much shorter time than Naruto –especially considering how the blond abused the kage bunshin no jutsu to give himself more time– but was almost his team-mate's equal already. The Uzumaki's continued advantage had more to do with his combat style than his level of innate talent.

Not that Naruto was stupid. The blond was just quicker at learning physical things than anything else except fuuinjutsu.

"You taught the Yondaime," the Uchiha commented quietly; he'd looked up who Kakashi's sensei had been after learning Naruto was a jinchuuriki, wanting to know why the Hatake had been entrusted with such a valuable village asset. "he was your first choice of successor; so why was Naruto your second..?"

"Careful there gaki," Jiraya interrupted softly, face suddenly and jarringly serious. "Get any sharper and you'll cut your own head off."

Village secret ahoy. Sasuke instantly dropped that line of inquiry; he could always ask Naruto about it later. Or better yet, ask Amemai-san, who seemed to know everything and was much clearer in separating what precisely was officially secret from what was just ignored or obscured. "I would be honoured to learn from you, Jiraya-san."

The only student of the Sandaime still working for the village patted the Uchiha on the shoulder with a massive hand, demeanour affable once more. "Excellent! Come on then gaki, let's make it official. In the meantime, Kakashi mentioned you were interested in intelligence…"

Sasuke perked up ever so slightly and paid close attention to the Sannin's words. Yogensha-san's suggestion that he find a field Itachi had not pursued to excel in had grown on him over time as he discovered that intelligence and kenjutsu were both fascinating, if not quite as flashy and satisfying as elemental manipulation. Itachi was a genjutsu specialist first and foremost, partly because he had been so young entering the shinobi forces that it was the only field where his physical strength was irrelevant, and though the former ANBU captain was perfectly proficient with a ninja-to it wasn't his first choice of weapon. Sasuke on the other hand was fascinated by the idea that intelligence could enable you to defeat your enemies without ever even seeing them, which he found rather appealing in a black, sadistic corner of his mind. Similarly attractive –if for different reasons– were the possibilities inherent to elemental manipulation: the prospect of creating unique personal techniques was one he was prepared to work hard to achieve. Sasuke did still want to surpass –or at the very least equal– his older brother, but he could afford a little patience and intended to play to his own strengths rather than Itachi's.

A/N: So things begin to change. Naruto's reasons for declining to become Jiraya's apprentice are not as superficial as they may appear –and will be laid out in the next chapter– and Sasuke gets more screen time. I find myself liking the new and improved Sasuke, which surprises me. I never intended to give him this much screen time...

A/N2: I know I killed off Madara ages ago, but that was Madara. Tobi is still out there. There will be no shortage of villans to play with.

Thanks to all my readers for reading and special thanks to all my lovely reviewers! You know who you are!